Mosaic Cottage Happenings

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Well, I won't be participating in the Chandler Artwalk tonight....for any of you locals that are interested (hi linda). I have just been too busy to make extra inventory and I thought I might look a little ridiculous sitting at my table with 2 cupcakes, 1 cake and a butterfly for sale. I'm going to work extra hard to be ready for May (hopefully).
Yesterday, I spent the whole day at the University for orientation for the incoming Freshman. Daughter #3 will be attending in the fall (on a full scholarship-Yay!!!!) and yesterday we were given a taste of what University life is all about. My husband went to college, but I did not, so this was quite a new experience for me. After we left, I told my husband that I was soooo excited about the whole experience that I may want to go to college too. I'm not sure for what.....maybe an art degree. He told me to go for it. We'll see if I change my mind after the excitement wears off.Soooo anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of my yard. The flowers next to my mosaic pathway in the front yard are doing Great! It's a mixture of perennials and wild flowers for right now. When the heat comes, I'll probably have to replant something like Vinca. Oh, and that's my yellow Scion in the background. I LOVE that car!!!!

The roses are starting to bloom on the arbor. This side has the pale yellow roses and the other side is also starting to bloom with peachy-pink roses.

Check out this beautiful vine. This vine has gone crazy! It is everywhere! It's even covered my neighbor's shed. Thank goodness he doesn't mind. I LOVE the yellow flowers on it!!

Here's the wall I've been painting blue that surrounds the pool, that I talked about in an earlier post. I have a lot of work to do in this area. I'm not a big fan of decorative rock and the pool is surrounded by them. Matter of fact, when we first moved to this house, a big portion of the front and back yard were covered in rock. YUCK!!! We've been removing the rock over the years and replacing with GREEN. The pool area is the last of it. This area needs plants and decorative planters and possibly a mosaic mermaid on the wall. :-)

Monday, April 2, 2007

I LOVE a Boutique!!!! Especially one that specializes in the Shabby Chic look!!
On Saturday, I had to run to Phoenix to pick up a piece from a gallery. I had no intention of doing any shopping, but then.....as I was driving up 7th Avenue, I saw it.....A New Boutique called
Rust and Roses. Well, I said, that sounds like my kind of place, so I turned the car around and went in. I'msoooo glad I did, because not only is this boutique FABULOUS, but I know the owner! She formerly co-owned Chateau Chic, but now owns her very own boutique Rust and Roses. Her name is Shelly and she is just a doll! So, do yourself a favor and take a drive down to Phoenix and check out this new boutique. I know my picture is a bit blurry, but it reads:
4200 N. 7th Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona
602-264-4999
Hours: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm
I picked up these rusty metal bins from there. The pink one is on my back patio table and I think I'll put little pots of pink flowers in it. The gold and aqua bins are possibly going into my family room after I give them a little scrubbing. I'd love some ideas from you folks on these.
She even had an old pink claw foot tub! I wish I could afford it!
Well, back to work.....mosaic cupcakes and cakes to finish and I'm painting my block wall around the pool......bright blue!! I'll share later.......

Mosaic Cupcakes have been very popular and keeping me very busy!! Yay!!!!! Especially the Nest Cupcake. I'm literally making cupcakes as they're ordered, so if you see something you like and it's sold, feel free to shoot me an email and request something similar.

Before I head back to work, I must share daughter #4 blowing out her 15 candles last night. Magical...........

Monday, March 26, 2007

Hello Everyone! So sorry to be gone so long. This last week I have been swamped at the SAMA conference. I had very early mornings and very late nights, but I had a blast!! I met some of the most amazing and talented mosaic artists. It was sooooo fun chatting with someone who has the same interests as you do. AND talk about nice people!!!! These artists were awesome and generous!! Anyway, I can't wait until next year!! Although, I'm not sure I'll hold a coordinator position again, so I can have more time to play. If any of you are interested in joining SAMA, shoot me an email and I'll send you the info.

So, finally, I'm posting the final pictures of my daughter's room re-do. I purchased this vintage globe at the flea market. It's not in the final picture, as I bought it after she saw the room. She loves globes and I think this globe is just one of the final touches this room needed.

Next, another purchase from Ikea. I bought this chair awhile ago, but we finally just pulled it out of the box and put it together. I like the modern twist it adds to the room and it's very comfortable AND the cost was around $20!
Here is a vanity that has been in our family for several years. It actually belonged to my Great Grandmother. The finish on it had seen better days, so a couple of years ago I added this paint job to it. I really like the way it turned out and if my Great Grandmother were alive today, I think she would be happy to know that another generation is happily using it. As you can see, my daughter is currently using it for her laptop and printer, however, this isn't working out too well, as she also applies her makeup there. We're currently looking for a slim table, possibly a tall hall table to move the laptop and printer to.

Here is the photo of my daughter when she walked into her room. She wassoooooshocked and surprised.Leopard bedding, of course. The little blue pillows in the background are another purchase from Ikea. They were a whopping 99 cents a piece!!!!!! The globe from above pictures, now sits where the fan is. I would've taken another picture of the room, but let's just say it's already a little messy. TEENAGERS!!! (I'll try to get her to straighten it up, so I can get a better picture).
I put the bed at a slight angle and hung the curtain rod across the ceiling for the dramatic hanging of the pink drapes. Notice, I still need to make the covering for the chandelier cord. It's going to be leopardas well.
She's pretty happy with her new room and Emma the pug, just wants to know what's in the pink bag.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Part of the window treatment is also a find from my garage. The bark cloth was a steal at 10 cents at a garage sale down the street. I knew I'd use it for something someday. The black shawl on top of the bark cloth was a donation from my neighbor Janice. She picked it up at the dollar store, but wasn't able to use it and when I told her that I was re-doing my daughter's room, she was more than happy to make a contribution. (I have some really great neighbors!)

In one of the earlier posts, I said that I had
picked up some great buys at Ikea. Well, this
awesome chandelier was one of them. The grand
total for the chandelier and the lighting attach-
ment that goes with it, was a mere $20. Yahoo!
Isn't it beautiful! I'm going to make a covering for the cord, but just haven't had the time yet.
The pink drapery panels behind the chandelier are also from Ikea. I think I paid $14 for them. They had lots of different colors to choose from and you can use them for so many things. I even use them under my table cloths to add another layer of color.

Another find from the garage was this large picture frame.
I believe I got it for $2 at a garage sale in the neighborhood.
I spray painted it a copper color and then tacked this map
of France in the center. The map is actually a paper pur-
chase from the scrapbook store....really cheap, but great
look.

These two pieces of art were picked up at an
art festival. They are prints of the originals. If
you like the artist's work, but can't afford the
originals, prints are the next best thing. I Love
the bright colors that these artists use. Well,
that's all for now. I'll post more tomorrow. ;-)

Monday, March 19, 2007

Here's the next phase of my daughter's room re-do. First I went looking through my garage and found this headboard that I had purchased sometime ago from Goodwill for $5.00! At one time, my husband said I had a headboard addiction. He said that I was the only person he knew that collected headboards.....that is until I moved onto chairs.....but that's a story for another time. :-)

Well, as you can see, I painted the headboard black. I used a satin finish for it. I think the black paint really makes the old headboard look classy and of course now, it will be something that my daughter likes.

Okay, now onto the next piece of furniture. This
(ugly) bedside table has been in our house for
years, but I can't remember where it came from.
Maybe it belonged to my husband when he was
in college? I'm not sure. The only thing I am sure
of is that I can't believe we still have this ugly piece of furniture roaming
around the house. I think each daughter has
had it in their room at one time and we haven't
done anything to spruce it up....until now.

I found this zebra gift wrap at Michael's and I decoupaged it onto the bedside table. I then painted the top black and the inside cubby black and added the pink rose knob. I had the pink knob lying around, so I used it, but I may go to Anthropologie and see if I can find a red knob. I remember seeing metal red rose knobs there and I think that would better fit with the decor.

I'll post more pics tomorrow of the transformation. The final re-do turned out Fabulous!!!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

The room is now painted. Isn't this color just beautiful! If you could see the bottom of this picture......well, let's just say very messy. She is a teenager after all, and they aren't known for their neatness....well, most of them anyway. I picked up all the dirty laundry and put it in her hamper, put the trash in a trash bag that's now sitting on top of her bed along with a lot of other stuff that I wasn't sure what to do with. I'll deal with "the pile" later. I went to Ikea last night (where daughter #3 works) and picked up lighting, sheets, curtains, pillows for about $50 (yahoo!) Now, I just need to dig through my garage and see if I can find anything that will add some charm to this room. But not too much charm.....she's not the girlie girl type.
I have 3 appointments today and this room to get decorated and somehow I don't think I'll be lucky enough to not have to deal with a SAMA problem today, but I am determined to get this room done before she gets home....which is TOMORROW (aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!)